Geo-Strategic Trend

U.S. Forces Japan has announced that, starting October 26, vehicles made by Chinese automaker BYD will be barred from entering Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, citing security concerns. The move follows earlier U.S. restrictions on the use of Chinese electronic devices at military bases and major military facilities, which were introduced to protect military secrets.

Korean media, citing a U.S. Forces Japan official, reported that the ban applies to all private vehicles, contractor vehicles, taxis, delivery trucks and commercial vehicles. The goal is to prevent sensitive information from the base from leaking through the cameras and sensors built into electric vehicles.

Internally, U.S. Forces Japan believes the measure could be extended to other major American bases in Japan, such as Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, and possibly even to U.S. bases in South Korea.

Analysts say the restriction is intended to keep information about the various military operations conducted at Kadena from being exposed, including details about the U.S. Air Force fighter jets, transport aircraft, radar systems and munitions stationed there.

China’s Foreign Ministry has previously stated that Beijing firmly opposes what it describes as the U.S. overstretching the concept of national security and drawing up discriminatory lists to unjustly suppress Chinese companies. It has urged Washington to correct its approach, arguing that such discriminatory measures serve no party’s interests. The ministry said the United States should abide by market economy principles, stop interfering with normal economic and trade cooperation, and safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains. It added that China will take necessary measures to protect its legitimate rights and interests.

Source: Sputnik News, October 24, 2026
https://sputniknews.cn/20261024/1073767600.html

China announced a new batch of dual-use export control measures on Monday, placing tunnel boring machines under export controls for the first time and adjusting the rules governing dredgers and drones. The measures take effect on November 18.

The Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs said the controls on tunnel boring machines cover shield machines, rock tunnel boring machines and other large engineering equipment, along with key components and related technology. Walking excavators capable of operating in complex terrain and wet-spraying machines suited to high-altitude work are also included.

The two agencies also revised controls on dredger-related items, focusing on key equipment and parts such as mud pumps, drag heads and cutter heads, and clarified the technical specifications.

In a separate notice, issued jointly with the Central Military Commission’s Equipment Development Department, authorities refined the technical standards for controlled drones. Drones that can be flown beyond the operator’s natural line of sight, have a maximum endurance of 30 minutes to three hours, and can take off and fly stably in gusts above 46.3 kilometers per hour require a license for export, as do similar drones with endurance of three hours or more. The adjustment also eases some exports: drones meeting certain endurance and wind-resistance standards can be registered to obtain an export certificate before each shipment instead of applying for a regular license each time, and drones sent to non-defense, non-police exhibitions and returned unchanged afterward may also use registration.

A commerce ministry spokesperson said the items have clear dual-use characteristics and that the controls accord with international practice and help meet non-proliferation obligations. The spokesperson added that Beijing is willing to discuss export control policy with other parties through bilateral dialogue mechanisms. On drones, the spokesperson said some formerly advanced products have become mass consumer goods, and that China opposes the misuse of drones for non-peaceful purposes while supporting civilian drone trade.

A July report by a Chinese industry research institute put China’s global market share in tunnel boring machines at about 70 percent, with annual output of more than 700 units. Another think tank projected that China’s 2025 shield machine exports would reach US$4.5 billion, mainly going to Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), October 19, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202610190263.aspx

The 2026 “Overseas Chinese Media Visit Guizhou” program kicked off in Guiyang on October 13, bringing together 23 overseas Chinese-language journalists and social media creators from the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan, the Philippines and Hong Kong, China News Service reported.

During the field trip, the delegation will visit major infrastructure projects, rural revitalization demonstration sites, ethnic minority villages and ecological protection areas. The aim is to learn how Guizhou is advancing at the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period and to gather material on its high-quality development.

At the launch ceremony, a promotional film for “Overseas Chinese Hearts Toward the Party: Passing the Torch,” an oral history project, made its debut. Started in late 2025 by Guizhou’s overseas Chinese affairs office and federation of returned overseas Chinese, the project records the experiences of elderly returned overseas Chinese who settled in Guizhou and contributed to Third Front construction, science, education, healthcare and local development. The material will be circulated on platforms at home and abroad.

Ji Jie, vice chairperson and secretary-general of the provincial federation, described overseas Chinese media as an important bridge between China and the world, and urged participants to present Guizhou’s natural beauty and rapid changes from many angles.

Chen Lin, publisher of Canadian magazine Souluo, said overseas outlets would use their language and platform strengths to tell Guizhou stories through short videos and in-depth interviews, and hoped to build lasting cooperation for regular coverage of the province.

Sun Yonghui, director of the provincial overseas Chinese affairs office, called on the media to serve as witnesses, communicators and promoters of friendly exchanges. He said Guizhou will build an external communication network combining mainstream and overseas Chinese media and develop the program into a brand that rallies overseas Chinese support.

Zhu Huanhuan, a reporter for Germany’s Europe Times, said she would use multilingual channels to promote Guizhou’s tourism, ecology and development achievements to mainstream German audiences and local Chinese communities.

Source: China News Service, October 13, 2026
https://www.chinanews.com/hr/2026/10-13/10714070.shtml

China’s Ministry of Education said on October 12 that the country has built 38 Luban Workshops in 32 countries, calling them a shining calling card for Chinese vocational education abroad. Peng Binbai, director of the ministry’s Department of Vocational and Adult Education, made the remarks at a press conference introducing the 2026 World Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and Training and related international cooperation efforts.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the world’s first Luban Workshop. The ministry will hold a symposium to review a decade of experience and push the program toward higher quality and an upgraded model, with the aim of making this “small but beautiful” brand shine even brighter.

The Luban Workshop is an international vocational education brand guided by the Ministry of Education and originally developed and driven by the city of Tianjin. It seeks to share China’s vocational education achievements with the world and promote the spirit of the “master craftsman.” Named after Lu Ban, an ancient Chinese craftsman, the program combines academic education with vocational training. It exports Chinese vocational standards, equipment and the Engineering Practice Innovation Project (EPIP) teaching model to train young skilled workers needed by countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The first workshop opened in Thailand in March 2016, and the program has since expanded across Asia, Africa and Europe. As of September 2025, there were 36 workshops in 29 countries. The workshops offer 60 majors in 14 categories, including smart manufacturing, rail transit, traditional Chinese medicine, artificial intelligence and modern agriculture, matching local industrial needs.

Results so far include nearly 10,000 students in degree programs and more than 31,000 person-times of vocational training. Fourteen internationalized teaching standards have been incorporated into partner countries’ national education systems. The program has also helped bring Chinese equipment abroad and serves as an important bridge for people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries.

Source: China News Service, October 12, 2026
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2026/10-12/10712055.shtml

China’s Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Chen Xi announced on Friday that China will hold an international training course for United Nations peacekeeping staff officers, along with a major counterterrorism forum, as part of upcoming military-related activities.

According to Chen, the Ministry’s Peacekeeping Affairs Center and the Foreign Languages College of the National University of Defense Technology will jointly host the training course in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, in the second half of October. Instructors and trainees from 12 countries and international organizations, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria and the United Nations, will take part.

The course focuses on building the skills required for UN peacekeeping staff posts. It consists of three modules: basic theory, professional skills and headquarters exercises. Covering 31 topics, including the basic principles of peacekeeping operations, civilian protection, and command and control, the program is intended to help participating countries’ militaries conduct peacekeeping operations in a more professional, standardized and coordinated manner.

Chen also said the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force will host the “Great Wall-2026” International Counterterrorism Forum in Beijing from Oct. 13 to 15. More than 320 Chinese and foreign representatives from 62 countries and international organizations are expected to attend.

Themed “Advancing Practical Counterterrorism Cooperation and Jointly Safeguarding Our Homeland,” the forum will address four topics: terrorism trends and counterterrorism capacity building in an unmanned and intelligent environment; preventing and combating maritime terrorism; protecting key targets against terrorist attacks; and countering infiltration across borders. Chen said the forum will help strengthen friendship and mutual trust between the Armed Police Force and its foreign counterparts, deepen bilateral and multilateral counterterrorism cooperation, and help maintain regional peace and stability.

Source: China News Service, October 10, 2026
https://www.chinanews.com/gn/2026/10-10/10710613.shtml

In a speech reported in Chinese state media, Chen Xu, deputy minister of the Central United Front Work Department and director of the State Council’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, described how Beijing wants to mobilize overseas Chinese communities. He framed his remarks as study of a July 2026 instruction on overseas Chinese affairs from Xi Jinping, which he said sets the direction for the work.

Chen argued that engagement with the roughly 60 million overseas Chinese and 40 million returned overseas Chinese and relatives serves several national goals, among them economic modernization, cultural influence and “a community with a shared future for mankind.” His most politically sensitive passage concerned Taiwan. He said overseas Chinese have long conducted publicity, solidarity and protest activities against “Taiwan independence” abroad, and that separatist forces are colluding with foreign backers, making unification harder. He called for strengthening the “Chinese nation community” consciousness, combining “unity and struggle,” and squeezing the overseas space for what he termed hostile separatist forces while building up pro-unification forces worldwide.

Chen also said overseas Chinese have supported China’s bilateral and multilateral ties and the Belt and Road Initiative, and should act as a “golden ribbon” and “bridge of friendship” between China and their host countries.

On organization, he stressed that the Party’s centralized leadership must run through all overseas Chinese work. United Front departments at every level, he said, should coordinate ministries, community groups, universities, financial institutions and companies, under unified Party committee leadership.

Chen acknowledged challenges, including weakening ties to China among younger overseas Chinese and disunity among community groups. He also urged overseas Chinese to obey local laws. The speech reflects how Beijing links diaspora outreach to its sovereignty and foreign-policy goals, and the language on countering Taiwan independence abroad is likely to draw scrutiny from host governments.

Source: Study Times, October 9, 2026
https://www.studytimes.cn/lltt/202610/t20261009_92572.html

China’s Ministry of Defense announced that the Chinese and Pakistani armies will hold their first joint army training exercise in Korla, Xinjiang, in the second half of October. Ministry spokesperson Chen Xi said the drill, called “Karakoram-2026,” will focus on joint counterterrorism clearing operations in high-altitude terrain. It will include drone operations, moving-target shooting, long-range sniper training, and joint command and live-troop exercises. Chen said it would deepen exchanges and strengthen both sides’ ability to counter terrorist threats.

Hong Kong’s Ming Pao reported that militant groups in Pakistan have repeatedly targeted Chinese firms and projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, causing casualties among Chinese personnel and damaging facilities under construction. Beijing has repeatedly demanded severe punishment for those responsible. In March 2024, five Chinese engineers were killed in an attack in northwestern Pakistan, and in October of that year, an explosion at a Chinese-invested project killed two Chinese citizens.

The two countries have previously held “Warrior” counterterrorism exercises, but these mostly involved special forces or border units. Commentators cited in the report said the new drill marks an expansion of cooperation from special-operations units to regular army formations.

Chinese military expert Song Zhongping, quoted by Ming Pao, said joint action against cross-border terrorist groups has long been a shared training need. He argued that because the exercise is being held on the People’s Liberation Army’s home ground and involves a range of counterterrorism equipment, including drones, it intensifies the training. He said China has accumulated extensive counterterrorism experience in Xinjiang, and Pakistan should learn from it and acquire new equipment. Song added that the exercise is larger and more targeted than past cooperation, and that the Korla location can simulate plateau conditions. He did not rule out joint or cross-border counterterrorism operations between the two countries in the future.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), October 11, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202610110143.aspx

China’s Foreign Ministry announced countermeasures on Tuesday morning against two officials from countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Issuing two separate ministerial orders in quick succession, Beijing targeted Paraguay’s Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Gustavo Emigdio Villate Samaniego, and Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Francis Fonseca.

The measures imposed on both men are identical and consist of three parts. First, all movable property, real estate and other assets they hold inside China will be frozen. Second, organizations and individuals within China are prohibited from carrying out transactions, cooperation or other activities with them. Third, neither will be issued visas or permitted to enter China, a ban that extends to Hong Kong and Macao.

The two orders, published on the ministry’s official website, give the same justification. They accuse certain “anti-China politicians” in Paraguay and Belize of stubbornly supporting their countries’ official diplomatic ties with Taiwan out of self-interest. According to the ministry, these individuals have taken a series of harmful actions and made damaging statements on China-related issues, undermining Beijing’s core interests.

The ministry said the countermeasures were adopted to safeguard China’s sovereignty, security and development interests and to oppose Taiwan independence separatist activities. They were imposed under China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and took effect immediately upon announcement.

Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic allies have periodically drawn scrutiny from Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as part of its territory and opposes any official international recognition of it.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), October 12, 2026
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202610120065.aspx